At 7:15 PM ET, the Pirates and Cardinals face off in an NL Central matchup. This one is being played at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and the Cardinals are favored on the money line (-139). The money line odds for a Pirates win are sitting at +119, and they are 5th in the NL Central with a record of 71-81.
Thursday's forecast in St. Louis calls for clear skies and temperatures in the upper 80s. The over/under line is currently at 8 runs, and the game can be seen on BSMW. Luis L. Ortiz is starting for the Pirates, and he is facing off against Erick Fedde. Fedde and the Cardinals are 77-75 and have won three straight.
Pittsburgh vs. St. Louis Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Pirates at Cardinals
- Where: Busch Stadium St. Louis
- Date: Thursday, September 19th
- Betting Odds STL -139 | PIT +119 O/U 8
Pirates vs Cardinals Last Game Recap
It was all St. Louis in the last game of this series, as the Cardinals took down the Pirates by a score of 10-5. The Cardinals offense only had two more hits than the Pirates and struck out eight times, but still picked up a convincing win. Heading into the game, they were favored at -204 on the money line.
Pittsburgh actually got on the board first in this game, scoring two runs in the 4th inning. As for the Cardinals, they didn't get on the board until the 2nd inning but exploded for six runs in the 7th. Heading into that inning, the Cardinals only had a 2-0 lead.
Sonny Gray got the start for the Cardinals, going just 5 2/3 innings while giving up four runs and striking out eight. He didn't factor into the decision, as Michael McGreevy got the win out of the bullpen. David Bednar took the loss for the Pirates out of the bullpen.
Pirates Preview
As the underdog, the Pirates have a 37-53 straight-up record and a 57-33 record against the run line. Overall, they are 71-81 and have a 20-21-6 series record. Pittsburgh has struggled as the favorite, going 34-28 straight-up and 24-38 against the run line.
Pittsburgh is currently down 0-3 in their series against the Cardinals and have lost three straight games. Their average run differential on the road is -0.4, slightly better than their overall average of -0.5. The over/under record for games with an 8-run total line is 16-18, and their season O/U record is 74-76.
Pittsburgh is sending Luis L. Ortiz to the mound today vs. the Cardinals, and he comes in with a record of 6-6 and an ERA of 3.45. So far this year, he has made 13 starts, 17 of which have come on the road. Ortiz's ERA on the road is the same as his overall mark, 3.45. In his last outing, he gave up four earned runs in four innings of work, taking the loss vs. the Royals. Before that, he had won two straight starts. One of those was a six-inning scoreless outing vs. the Guardians. Ortiz has allowed at least one homer in each of his last three starts.
So far this season, the Pirates are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 22nd in the league. They have been a little better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. As a team, they are batting just .236 and have the 22nd ranked home run total in the league. Overall, their on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS are all near the bottom of the league.
Bryan Reynolds has been the Pirates' most consistent hitter this season, as he is batting .280 and has 22 homers and 85 RBIs. He is currently on a five-game hitting streak and has gone 3/13 in his last five games. Andrew McCutchen and Bryan De La Cruz are also tied for 2nd on the team with 20 homers.
Cardinals Preview
St. Louis has a 77-75 record and is 11 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. They have won three straight games and hold a 3-0 series lead over the Pirates. The Cardinals are 42-35 at home and 35-40 on the road this season.
On the run line, the Cardinals are 39-38 at home and 52-28 as underdogs. Their games have averaged 8.6 runs this season, and their over/under record is 71-77. The O/U line for today's game is set at 8 runs.
Right-hander Erick Fedde gets the start for the Cardinals today and will be looking to bounce back from his last outing, where he gave up three earned runs in five innings of work. In that outing vs. the Blue Jays, he gave up one homer. Fedde has made 29 starts this season and has a record of 8-9 with a 3.45 ERA. Looking at his home/away splits, he has an ERA of 4.75 on the road compared to 2.14 at home. Fedde's ERA for September is 3.60, and he has a loss and two no-decisions in his last three outings.
For the season, the Cardinals are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 24th in the league. They are also near the bottom of the league in terms of home runs and have a team batting average of .246. St. Louis is hoping that Brendan Donovan can keep up his recent hot streak, as he has gone 8/27 in his last eight games with two homers and five RBIs. Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt are tied for the team lead with 21 homers, but Goldschmidt is batting just .244 for the season.
Not only are Burleson and Goldschmidt the team's top home run hitters, but they are also the top two run producers for the Cardinals this season. Burleson has driven in 73 runs, while Goldschmidt has 60 RBIs. Nolan Gorman is 2nd on the team with 19 homers but has a batting average of just .203.
Pirates vs. Cardinals Prediction: Cardinals ML -139
Our predictions have the Cardinals picking up a 5-4 win over the Pirates. With the Cardinals' money line sitting at -139, this is the route we recommend going. We actually have the Cardinals finishing with the same amount of hits as the Pirates, but the Cardinals finishing with two fewer strikeouts.
Looking at the starters, Luis Ortiz is projected to finish with five strikeouts, while the Cardinals starter, Erick Fedde, is projected to finish with five as well. However, Fedde has a better chance of picking up the win, as he has the seventh-best odds among starters.
